EVERY sport is locked in a battle for the attention of the fans and the pound notes of the sponsors.

In the case of rugby league that battle is a very tough one, as the game has never consistently attracted the really big, national sponsors as it is seen as a northern game with a narrow fan base.

So, the game’s bosses indulge in gimmicks like the recent Magic weekend in Edinburgh, which is a two-day event which made a far bigger contribution to Scotland’s tourist economy than to the development of rugby league. Not only is it self-deluding, it is also a manifest failure.

The game does need to attract more fans and bigger, richer sponsors but it is not going about doing that in the best or the most sensible way.

The Magic weekend was utterly outshone by the Heineken Cup semi finals, especially the game at Croke Park between Leinster and Munster, which attracted 82,500 fans and brilliant TV coverage.

No-one could possibly deny that it was an authentically special sporting occasion.

Yet 30 years ago Irish inter-provincial games attracted very small crowds and little outside interest.

The Rugby Football League should look at what the union authorities have done in Ireland to learn some lessons about how you grow a game and attract more fans.

It is not magic, but good planning and sound judgement that is needed in the management of the game in England.

If that is applied we can achieve something, if we rely on conjuring we have a bleak future.